I was only seven years old; it was the start of the twelfth century. They came swift and silently, we didn't know the Judas Kindred were within the castle until the first of our men had been taken. I awoke with a start; my father was already outside and in the fray. It seemed that they knew he had been here, for they had to be powerful to hold their own against him. I heard my father's retainers running towards the battle. My mother tried to cover my ears but I heard what was said none the less.
"We don't stand a chance; those are all lieutenants of Krauser and Exodus! They're here for our lord's son!"
Exodus and Krauser were Generals of Judas, if they were involved then we were all in trouble. I slipped out my mother's hands and ran towards the back corridor exit when suddenly he appeared before me.
His hair was blacker then the night, his skin pale and smooth except around his eyes. His eyes were all white, with dark veins running around the edges. They didn't just look at you, they saw through you. He was the personal assassin of Judas, his real name a mystery, they called him Hatred. My mother swung her staff at him, it moved faster than the eye could see. I was sure he was done for, but by the time the staff reached his face, he was gone.
"Fools."
Before I knew what had happened my mother was unconscious on the floor and then the world went black. I awoke many days later; my mother was with me in a Judas prison. Exodus was using us as bait for my father in an elaborate plan that Hatred had devised. I didn't understand most of it, all I knew is that Exodus and his lieutenants planned on confronting my father that night. My father knew what was going on and laughed it off. His pride cost us all. He walked straight into the trap they set for him. It was a large circular room. Ten lieutenants of Exodus stood at the edges of the room. In the very center stood two figures. Exodus and his strongest warrior, Dark. They knew there was no way he could beat them without transforming, something he had sworn to never do again.
"Simpletons. This was destined to fail from the start."
My father stuck his palm against the wall, and with a loud unified scream the ten warriors near the wall all fell to the ground, their bodies smoldering. My father dove forward and clashed with the two remaining enemies. They countered his electricity with a giant mass of kinetic energy. The explosion killed Dark and left my father and Exodus both weak. Exodus stood over my father.
"Matthias, you're pathetic, you could have destroyed us all by simply transforming, but you're to scared of your true nature to release it. You don't deserve the power you have. After this, I will find a way to take that power, and there will be nothing left for you but pain."
He lifted his kinetic sword above his head.
"You don't understand, my pain is my power."
All the blood on the floor, from their wounds, and from the dead bodies suddenly flowed towards and into my father. His nails hardened and grew, his eyes glowed a bright blue. Exodus swung his sword down and it was caught midway by my father's bare hand.
"Ughhhhhhh!"
His other hand impaled the heart of Exodus, all the blood in the room was within him, and he had dialiberized the strongest of the Exodus bloodline.
My father made his way into the prison, killing many guards before coming to our cell. As soon as he let us out Hatred sped towards him from behind. He swung his dual swords prepared to finish my father off when my mother jumped in the way of his attack. He cut her from neck to hip and tore her body into two. Blood splattered out of a diagonal line that gushed from my mother's torso.
"NO!!"
My father's roar of rage was beyond anything I had ever heard. The world seemed to blur as my mother's body fell to the ground. Hatred grabbed me and took off as my father's frenzy started. I will never forget what I saw that day. It was the first time I had witnessed a vampiric frenzy, let alone one of my father's, who was known for especially violent crusnik transformations when his conscious wasn't fighting against it. The air around him crackled with electricity, his features became darker and darker, his hair became white as snow, fangs elongated, eyes glowing blue, muscles developed and grew at an inhuman rate, and finally, and most impressive, his leathery wings sprouted from his back and all I saw was his giant silhouette framed by the destruction of the building. Hatred was running as fast as he could, taking no risk of my father catching up to him. His celerity was beyond anything I had ever experienced, things were blurring by so fast I couldn't even tell how much time had passed. I didn't think anyone could catch up to such a speed, but over the blur of the forest I saw something huge. My father was flying directly above us, but his frenzy was even worse than before. He was barely recognizable, and I wasn't sure which was the lesser evil, my frenzied father, or my homicidal captor. My father could have destroyed us, but he didn't seem capable of strategy. He wasn't just following us, he was completely destroying the landscape as he past it.
Hatred ran right up through the main entrance of a castle I had never seen before. Inside even I recognized the power that was within this castle. It was Krauser, the strongest and oldest of the Judas Generals. He brought me before him as his men tried to fend off the beast my father had become. Krauser was the largest being I had ever seen with the exception of my father. He was a large Russian with golden armor and dark hair. He looked at Hatred with disgust as he left to do battle with my father.
"Are you ready for this Matthias?"
"The real question here, is whether or not you are." My father's voice was rough, deeper then it ever was before.
The two of them moved so fast that no one even saw the first move. They met in the middle of the room. each caught the other's fist. The force of their stalemate caused the ground and the walls around them to start cracking. Everyone in the room was smothered by their force. Krauser took a step back and used the leverage to fling my father through the wall. Almost as soon as he went through, he shot back out and flew straight into Krauser. He punched him in the gut, lifted him over his head, and slammed him into the ground.
"You can't beat me!" He pummeled Krauser into the ground as he screamed more and more. Suddenly Krauser caught his arm on the way down. Krauser kneed him in the face. As my father reared back Krauser jumped to his feet and kicked him in the throat in one fluid movement.
"You can do better then this Matthias, I've only started to enjoy myself."
He continued to beat my father down without much effort.
"It's pathetic, you're every bit as strong as me, yet your skill is so lacking."
His next fist was caught, and my father grabbed him by the throat. Electricity traveled through his hand and made Krauser writhe in pain. He broke the hold and jumped back. My father was on him in a second.
"Am I still disappointing you?"
My father's next punch knocked out a couple teeth.
"Hahahahahahaha. I've never felt so alive, but all things must end. Let us finish this Matthias."
"Hurricane Kick!"
"Kuroirai"
The two of them slammed their most powerful attacks at each other. After the explosion my father had fallen to his knees. Krauser remained standing, but was missing a large chunk of his torso. Neither was in condition to make a move. Krauser smiled, ready to die proud and standing, that was when Hatred made his move; he sped behind Krauser and grabbed him around the arms. He dug his fangs into his neck and committed dialiberie in front of all those there.
"Matthias, I think you remember my friends here. The Guardians of the Blood. They will decide what to do with you and your brat."
I saw one of them thrust a spear down upon my father as another dragged me away to what would become my own personal hell. As I hung from the shackles in my cell I heard a voice. I strained my neck to see a boy my age only much larger. He was cuffed to the point where he couldn't move. He smiled, "Welcome Shackles, I'm Manacle. The Guardians have had their eyes on you for some time now."